Be My Valentine in the Subtlest Ways Possible
by Sahara Storm
Summary: [Oneshot, IchiRuki] Sometimes, the best way to say something is to not say it at all. Ichigo and Rukia, on Valentines Day.


**Title:** Be My Valentine in the Subtlest Ways Possible

**Fandom:** Bleach

**Pairing:** Ichigo/Rukia

**Rating: **PG

**Word Count:** 1,896

**Summary/Description: **Sometimes, the best way to say something is to not say it at all. Ichigo and Rukia, on Valentines Day.

**Warning/Spoilers:** I'm afraid it's as OOC as shite. I dunno; you tell me. Spoiler-wise… It takes place after the SS arc, but there are no mentions of what actually happened in Soul Society. There are a few teeny spoilers for post-SS happenings, but if you haven't read the last 15 or so chapters as yet, how will you know the difference between canon and what I just made up? XD

**A/N:** shoujo22 planted a little idea in my head a few months ago when I posted my little IchiRuki Christmas fic, and suggested that I do one for Valentines Day. So I guess y'all have her to thank for this. Don't expect to find anything as worldly as 'plot' in this little ficlet. It's just fluff, fluff, snark, and more fluff. If you spot _any_ plot, any at all, even _this _much, (/makes small, non-expansive gesture with forefinger and thumb/) shoot me a line, and I'll get rid of it.

**Disclaimer:** If I owned _Bleach_, IchiRuki would be the canonest canon that ever canonned, Shuuhei would be **_mine_**, and Tousen would not be evil, damn it.

* * *

_Valentines Day…_

"What in the hell is _that_!" Ichigo growled, brows knitted together in a fierce scowl.

Rukia beamed at the bouquet in her arms, and paid her companion little attention.

"Roses. Aren't they beautiful?" She inhaled deeply of the vermillion mass. "I found them on my desk when I came to school today."

Ichigo, sprawled out on the floor of his usual eating spot, glared at the bouquet as if it had said something offensive to him.

"And there's a card, too!" Grinning widely, the brunette opened up the pretty, heart-shaped card, ran her fingers over the ornate, embossed gold letters. "'_To Rukia-chan. Happy Valentines Day, from your Secret Admirer_.' Aww, how sweet!" Smiling, the Death Goddess hugged the large arrangement of flowers of her body.

Ichigo's frown deepened, and he made an annoyed sound at the back of his throat. Muttering something along the lines of, "Shut up about it already," he crossed his legs, stacked his hands behind his head, and went back to staring at the sky.

* * *

"What's _that_?" Rukia queried, looking quizzically at the wrapped package on Ichigo's desk. 

"How the hell should I know?" he shot back, walking over. He picked up the gift, inspecting it. It was wrapped neatly in glossy silver paper, adorned with plump red hearts and a big silver bow. The blond blinked at it rapidly. Rukia likewise, albeit with a small frown twisting her lips.

"Well, open it already," she said after some time.

He complied. He ripped away the gift paper haphazardly to reveal a large box of Godiva chocolates. Ichigo's orange-gold brows rose in pleasant surprise.

"Hn," he said. Opening the box, he extracted a dark, flower-shaped one, and popped it into his mouth. "Mmm." He chewed slowly, thoughtfully. "Caramel."

Rukia's grimace metamorphosed into a full-fledged scowl.

"What does the card say?" she asked, a bit of tetchiness seeping into her register. She folded her arms across her chest, aiming for an air of disinterest. She failed.

"What card?"

"The one beneath the box, you idiot."

"Shut up," the other Shinigami retorted absently. He pulled out the small card that was trapped between his fingers and the base of the box. It was pink, glittery, and its surface was frequented by pictures of cute miniature plushies. Ichigo flipped it open, and Rukia inched closer, craning her neck in an effort to see.

"'_To Ichigo-kun. Happy Valentines Day, from your Secret Admirer.'_"

Ichigo blinked at the card, looked it over a few times.

"Hn," he said, and ate another chocolate.

"Humph," Rukia sniffed, looking a combination of irritated and disdainful. "Eat too many of those, and you'll get a bad stomach-ache," she admonished, mimicking the exact words he had told her some time ago when she had rediscovered confectionaries.

He shrugged.

"Whatever," he said, and popped a heart-shaped candy into his mouth.

"Humph," she said, and walked out of the classroom.

* * *

_Later that day…_

Ichigo was at the desk in his bedroom, trying to get a bit of studying done when a scraping sound at the window caught his attention. He wasn't very surprised when a short, violet-eyed girl propelled herself into the room. Even though Rukia was now living legitimately in the Kurosaki household, she still hadn't gotten used to using the front door.

Along with her schoolbag on her back, she had the bouquet of roses cradled in her arms, and another packet in her right hand.

"Hey," she said in greeting, a little vaguely. "The strangest thing just happened to me." She manoeuvred herself out of the bag-pack, and dropped it onto Ichigo's bed. Before he could protest, she plopped herself down on it too. "I was walking along the driveway when this –" She held up the foreign package. "—flew out of nowhere and hit me on the head." She turned it around in her hand. "I think it's another Valentines Day gift."

"Oh?" Ichigo had turned back to his book, seemingly absorbed in it. He gave a little snort. "_You_ seem to be popular today." She did not see when he threw her a quick glance.

"Hmm," she said thoughtfully. She held up the gift. It was a bit lumpy, and shoddily wrapped, with lots of tape. Shrugging, she began to unwrap it, somehow managing to do so while keeping the arrangement of roses nestled in the crook of one arm. It took some time, as the tape kept sticking to her fingers, and it was wrapped in a rather complicatedly messy way.

Ichigo let out the breath he hadn't realised he had been holding in a muted, relieved sigh when he heard an exuberant squeal.

"Chappy the Bunny!"

Rukia stared at the little plushie with wide eyes, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Then with another warbled shriek, she squeezed it to her chest in a tight hug, a silly smile plastered on her face. The garland of roses fell unnoticed to the floor with a soft plop.

Thirty seconds later, she was still gleefully suffocating the little stuffed animal with her thin arms.

"Mind the rose," Ichigo said boredly. He couldn't help the sliver of smugness that snuck into his voice. Luckily for him, she didn't hear it.

"Oh!" She pulled back, and only then did she notice the solitary white rose that was taped to the small rabbit's paw. Its edges were a bit frayed and brown – understandably so, considering the attention that had just been lavished upon it – and the stem looked as though it had been ripped off, rather than cut. It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

"And there's a card, too!" she exclaimed, shock and bubbly excitement still coursing through her. Her delight escalated when she found that the card was cut in the shape of a rabbit's head. She practically ripped it open, and read aloud the message that was written in a rushed hand.

"'_To Rukia.'_" The small Shinigami frowned. "That's all. It doesn't say who it's from." She sounded a bit disappointed.

"Huh," was all Ichigo had to offer.

"…Oh, but is it not _cute_!" She ran her fingers over the soft white fuzz of its cheek lovingly. "Admittedly, the handwriting is a little untidy, and the ears of the card _are_ a little lopsided…"

"Those ears took a half an hour to cut!" the blond snapped testily, not thinking.

Rukia blinked, and gave him a silent stare.

"…As anyone can easily see," Ichigo remedied hastily. Turning, he pretended great interest in the text book, trying to quell the rush of red that was spreading to his cheeks. His companion regarded him strangely.

"Err… Anyway, I'm going to show this to Yuzu." Rukia hopped off the bed excitedly, and made her way into the hallway. It brought Ichigo great satisfaction to note that in her haste to get out of the room, she had trodden on the expensive roses, and not noticed a thing.

When he was sure she was out of earshot, he rose from his seat, scooped the offending bouquet off of the floor – along with the elaborate card – and pitched them out of the window.

* * *

_A few hours later…_

Rukia was splayed out on his bed when Ichigo came back from his short kitchen break. She gave him a cursory glance before turning back to the _Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle_ manga she was reading.

"What's that?" she asked of the package in his hands.

"I don't know," he replied, shrugging. "I found it on the front step." He pushed aside a couple of books and the unfinished box of chocolates on his desk to make room for the thing. It was tied up in a chequered piece of cloth, and a small tag was attached. "It's addressed to me."

"Oh?" she mumbled vaguely, and giggled at something Fai did.

"Hn."

The substitute Death God sat down at his desk, and began untying the package. He did not notice Rukia twist slightly on the bed in order to observe his actions in periphery. Throwing the red and white napkin to the side, he revealed a small plastic bowl, atop which sat a colourful, homemade card.

Ichigo picked up both items, considered them with a small frown. Meanwhile, Rukia turned to face him in full.

"Seems like I'm not the only popular one today," she commented casually, bracing her chin in the palms of her hands, her elbows sinking into Ichigo's mattress.

The blond made a noise that was up for interpretation, and peeled the cover off of the bowl.

Seconds passed, and he said nothing.

Finally, he ventured,

"The _hell_?"

"What is it?" Rukia inquired curiously, sliding off the bed.

"Brownies."

"Brownies?"

"Brownies," he affirmed with an arch of his brow.

"Well, brownies are a _nice_ gesture," she said, a touch huffily, walking over.

Ichigo gave her a dull look before picking up the card and opening it.

…He quite wished he hadn't done that so suddenly.

The inside of the card was interspersed with small drawings, coloured neatly, if randomly, with crayons. The illustrations were… interesting. Yeah, interesting. In another universe where 'interesting' was a synonym for 'absolutely frickin' godawful'.

There was a… thing, and another… thing, and they were… fighting…? Or something, anyway. And he supposed the drawing below depicting them making up? Or out? He couldn't be sure.

He squinted his eyes, and tilted the card. He supposed… at this angle, it could be called… 'cute'. But… _ugh_, it was terrible.

"'_To Ichigo,'_" were the words written in big, cloud-like letters. Like his first one, it wasn't signed.

"Huh," he said, and put the card down to rest. Next to him, Rukia folded her arms across her abdomen.

"Well? Aren't you going to taste them?" She gave the brownies a pointed look.

He glared at her on principle, almond eyes flaring.

"Don't rush me."

He reached into the bowl, got a piece of the soft brown snack, and slid it between his lips. He didn't notice the girl holding her breath in hidden apprehension.

"Not bad," he said eventually, chewing contemplatively, and Rukia tamped down on the overwhelming sensation of relief that suffused her. He gestured to the whole package, and shrugged his shoulders. "You know… even though the bottom is burnt, and the drawings are the stuff of my childhood nightmares…" _…and disturbingly familiar,_ he thought, twisting his lips to the side.

"Those drawings are _excellent_!" she cried indignantly, raising a fisted palm to smack him in the head.

Ichigo stared at her, and the fist was lowered in short order.

"…I mean… in my humble opinion. Er." She averted her eyes nervously.

Ichigo gave her a strange look, but couldn't be bothered to contemplate the reason why she was acting weird _this_ time. He broke off another piece of brownie, and ate it in two bites, fingering the card absently. After a while, Rukia reached into the bowl and retrieved a piece also.

'_Not bad at all,' _she thought, munching happily.

They stood there in amicable silence, polishing off the rest of the brownies. She derived great satisfaction from the fact that he never touched the pricey box of Godiva chocolates one more time.

When he went back downstairs to carry the empty brownie bowl to the kitchen, she snagged the purple and gold package, and tipped it into the dustbin. The cutesy, pink, glittery card too.

* * *

**A/N:** Err… well, I'm not altogether happy with it, but then again, I don't seem to be satisfied with anything I write these days. / 

Godiva boxes are purple and gold, right…? If not, cue me, feeling stupid.

As for who sent Ichigo and Rukia their original Valentines Day gifts… shrug Orihime and Keigo? Pyon and Kon? Yachiru and Renji? …I don't know. Does it matter? …Ah. No, I didn't think so either.

Yeah, anyway, so… Happy Belated Valentines Day, everyone. May you each find your true love, and may it be as snarky, and exciting, and deliciously romantic (…heh), and generally, as fun as Ichigo and Rukia's. :-)

Reviews… those are nice.


End file.
